Aircraft wings are typically provided with a number of moveable flight control surfaces such as slats and flaps. Specifically, an aircraft wing includes a leading edge as well as a trailing edge, where slats are moveably coupled to the leading edge of the wing and flaps are moveably coupled to the trailing edge of the wing. The flight control surfaces located on one of the wings of the aircraft may be arranged to move in unison with the respective flight control surfaces located on the opposite wing of the aircraft.
The flight control surfaces have a significant effect upon the aerodynamic performance of the wing. Accordingly, there are a number of flight control skew detection systems currently available that determine if one of more flight control surfaces of an aircraft wing are skewed. The flight control skew detection systems currently available determine a difference in motion between an intact and a non-functioning drive mechanism in order to detect a skew condition of the flight control surface. The current approach to detect a skew condition of the flight control surface may become problematic if the slats and flaps of the wing are constructed of a composite material, since composite materials are relatively stiff. Accordingly, even a relatively small deflection or change in motion in a composite material may become challenging to detect with the current motion sensors used. However, it should be appreciated that these relatively small deflections may still induce a relatively large load on the slat or flap of the wing. Thus, there exists a continuing need in the art for improved flight control skew detection systems that overcome the above-mentioned issues.